Sony has joined the convertible tablet market with the new Tap 20 and Legit Reviews had a chance to work with one. They come in a wide variety of prices and internals, from $850-$1250, all using a 1600x900 IPS display but with CPUs ranging from Core i5's with 4GB of DDR3 to i7's with 8GB DDR3. Every model comes with a hard drive for local storage and you can expect almost 3 hours of battery life; since the battery is in the tablet portion you do not get longer life from docking it to the keyboard. There were a few strange omissions on the tablet as well as some attractive features which you can read about in the full review.

"The Sony VAIO Tap 20 is a very interesting Hybrid PC that runs Windows 8 with 10 finger touch capabilities. The internal battery is rated to last 2 hours 45 minutes, which actually isn't bad for a device like this. Having the ability to unplug the PC and move it around the home is actually rather nice and really makes the PC experience group friendly. The Sony VAIO Tap 20 can be used in tablet mode with it lying on the table and you can play touch games on it versus a friend or share photos and videos with a group..."

An AIO and Tablet Design

When new and interesting architectures and technology are developed, it enables system designers to build creative designs and systems for consumers. With its renewed focus on power efficiency as well as performance, Intel has helped move the industry towards new form factors like the Next Unit of Computing and the evolution of the All-in-One design.

Today we are taking a look at the new Sony VAIO Tap 20 system, an AIO that not only integrates a 10-point touch screen on a 20-in 1600x900 resolution display and an Ivy Bridge architecture ultra low voltage processor, but also a battery to make the design semi-mobile and ripe for inclusion in high-tech homes.

Check out our quick video overview below and then follow that up with a full pictorial outline and some more details!

Video Loading...

This isn't Sony's first foray into all-in-one PCs of course but it is among the first to combine this particular set of features. In what is essentially an Ultrabook design with a large screen, the Tap 20 combines an Ivy Bridge Core i5 processors, 4GB of DDR3 memory and a 750GB hard drive. Here is the breakdown:

Sony VAIO Tap 20 System Setup

CPU

Intel Core i5-3317U

Memory

4GB DDR3-1600 (1 x SODIMM)

Hard Drive

750GB XXRPM HDD (2.5-in)

Sound Card

On-board

Graphics Card

Intel HD 4000 Processor Graphics

Display

1600x900 20-in touch screen (10 point)

Power Supply

External

Networking

Gigabit Ethernet
802.11n WiFi

I/O

2 x USB 3.0
SD / Memory Stick card reader
Headphone / Mic connection

Operating System

Windows 8 x64

The display is pretty nice with a 1600x900 reoslution though I do wish we had seen a full 1080p screen for HD video playback. As with most touch screens, the display quality is under that of a non-touch IPS monitor but even up close (as you tend to use touch devices) you'll be hard pressed to find any imperfections. Viewing angles are great as well which allows for better multi-person usage.

On the left we find the power connection and a hard wired Ethernet connection that compliments the integrated 802.11n WiFi.